Twisted
by Filly Ingles
Summary: About Leon. Not your average romance (that's not just a cliche I mean it.) I'll fix the summary when I think of something that doesn't suck. Chapter 3 added. Chapter 1 re-written!!
1. Default Chapter

**Title:** Twisted

**Author:** Kelly

**Rating:** PG+13 (Some Bad Language)

** Summary:** The story of Leon when asked to choose between the life he loves as a street racer… and the life he could get to love as a part of a family. (That is such a bad summary I suck at these things so just read it and find out.)

**Archive:**Yes please, but please e-mail me first, or I will contact your site provider and make a complaint of stealing. (Ohhh doesn't that sound so mean? Well sorry but it's happened before and it's a really icky feeling and I don't want it to happen again. Capeesh?)

**Feedback:** Definitely! I love adore and thrive on Feedback. Send it to kelmoyourinnerevil@yahoo.com.au


	2. Chapter 1

More kudos then you can possibly imagine to the wonderful fantastic marvellous super nova that is my beta reader!! Jessie I love you! She helped me SOOOOOOOO much with this story and practically re-wrote the entire first paragraph for me! Praise to all the deity's for the wonderful Beta that is Jessie! Check out her site and her own FF's at  
  
Chapter 1  
  
20th May 1999  
  
She looked up from the TV, listening in terrified silence as the rattling grew louder and louder. She listened intently as the car outside rattled noisily, chugging, and stalling as the driver seemed to be grinding the gears, then suddenly with a backfire and a loud clunk, the noise was silenced. Just outside her house.  
  
Quickly turning the TV down. Slowly she crept to the window, warily drawing back the sheer white curtain to peer out at the empty street; Hoping the clunking and grinding of the car she heard approaching wasn't an indication of how badly the driver himself was hurting.  
  
Her fear and curiosity piqued she slowly walked out onto the small, broken- down porch as his dying car lurched into her drive. The formerly beautiful piece of machinery seemed to be past due for a trip to the junk-yard; the hood was crumpled up toward the wind shield like an accordion that's been pressed closed, the wind-shield itself was cracked in multiple spots, the fender and bumper were dangling off, and she didn't want to contemplate why there were bullet holes clearly visible in the body of his car. It scared her too much.  
  
When the car finally stopped growling and sputtering, she cast a worried glance back into the house, then ran through the wet grass in her old slippers and tugged open the rusty driver's-side door. "Are you all right?!" She croaked, leaning into the car interior, trying to make out his face in the poor lighting.  
  
Her face was tight with concern, he hated the way her eyes ceased to shine as she looked him over. He knew what she was seeing as she scanned his frame with her tender hazel eyes. His right eye was black, his lip was crusted with blood, he knew his ribs were most likely cracked - his breathing was painful and raspy. "Leon, are you all right? Please...answer me..." She ran her fingers over his face, trying to bring him back from the daydream - or nightmare- that currently captured him. "I'm okay, 'Nita." He whispered, covering her hands with his larger ones. The blood from his hands that smeared across her cheeks nearly made him sick. "I'm sorry baby, I'm so sorry..." He tried to wipe the blood away with the tears that slid down her face. "Leon stop, stop!" She shouted as he tugged her into his lap. "I'm all right, Anita. I'm all right..." He whispered stroking her silky, red hair.  
  
He knew she was fighting back tears by the way she was shaking and sniffling in his arms. Carefully he wrapped his arms around her, drawing her face to his shoulder, giving her a moment to cry with dignity. Gently he stroked up and down her back, not trying to stop her tears, just trying to comfort her somehow and letting her know he was near. "Come on," She whispered, hastily wiping the tears away after a moment, "let's get you inside an I can clean you up." She got off his lap and tried to help as much as she could while he slowly made his way out of the car. Using all her strength to slam the car door shut, venemously. Then letting him throw his arm across her shoulder, and she wrapped an arm around his waist. "Slow down, you're bleeding, don't add insult to injury." She hissed, listening to his labored breathing. After a few careful minutes, they made it to her living-room.  
  
She ran off to the bathroom gathering things to dress his wounds walking silently back to dump it on the coffee table and sit on her knee's beside it, looking Leon over, with a sick feeling of fear still nestled in her stomach.  
  
Taking his bloodied hand first, she doused it in antiseptic cream rubbing it gently across his hand, jumping as he winced.  
  
Silent minutes later when she'd bandaged up his hand and tended to the cuts and grazes on his face, she looked him over, poking him in the shoulder, watching him jump with concern. "You should go to the hospital, to the emergency room. I'll drive you." She offered softly.  
  
"No. I don't need to go to the hospital. I just need to rest." Leon sighed and grunted in pain, avoiding her eyes' that looked just as in pain as he felt. "It's just a coupla cracked ribs, sweetheart. I promise I'm okay. If I still feel this bad tomorrow. I'll. I'll think about going to the hospital alright?" Leon asked trying to wipe that. expression off her face. That. shuttered, pained, confused look.  
  
Anita nodded, and stood up holding out her hands to him, helping him up, walking him through the house to her bedroom, helping him un-dress, impersonally, helping him into bed, looking down on him worried.  
  
"Come to bed baby. I'll be fine." Leon held his arm up to her.  
  
"I'll sleep on the couch tonight. get some rest." Anita muttered, running a hand over his head still concerned as she wandered out of her room, closing her bedroom doors behind her, grabbing a pillow and a blanket from the hall cupboard, setting herself up on the couch for a restless sleep.  
  
~~~ Flashback~~~  
  
18th May 1999  
  
"Street racing? Are you joking?" Anita asked as she stirred the white sauce, she was making for her lasagna.  
  
"No." Leon said leaning back on the kitchen table chairs comfortably, watching her prepare dinner.  
  
Anita stopped stirring the sauce to look at Leon, surprised, to say the least. "Isn't street racing illegal?" Not to mention dangerous?  
  
"Yeah. it's illegal but it's all organized down to the last detail. there's hardly ever been a crash. We perfectly safe." They'd be lucky to have one a night really.  
  
"But it's dangerous!" Anita declared lifting the sauce off the hot plate, stirring in the cheese, as she kept throwing looks of concern at Leon. "It's illegal because it's dangerous! What happens if you happen to be one of the people that crash? You call it safe then?" Anita demanded.  
  
Leon snorted and shook his head in amusement at the thought. "I won't crash! You know how long I've been doing this? At least 5 years. at least. baby it's all right. I know what I'm doing. No problems." Leon smiled as he scratched the back of his neck lazily.  
  
Anita stirred the meat sauce, frowning at Leon, as she started to layer the lasagna, she shook her own head, "No. Not no problems. I have a problem with this Leon. A big problem. and it's not just one of those little. differences of opinions. this is." Anita stopped what she was doing as she spoke earnestly at him.  
  
Leon shook his head and raised a hand, his face slightly less amused, because of the heavy routine she was playing. Anita's eyes went back to her work as Leon said, "This is nothing. This is nothing to worry about. If you really don't like it, then we just won't talk about it. I thought you mighta liked to come for a look, but if it's a problem..." Leon said off- hand, he tried to share one of his interests with her and she didn't like it. fine. Not just and interest a way of damn life. But fine.  
  
"What about Ricky? Huh? You think it's just that easy to say to a 2 year old, it's not big deal. Leon's doing something dangerous and illegal, and mommy doesn't like it at all, but we aren't going to talk about it so Mommy doesn't have to ever worry that he'll get hurt. Or worse hurt someone else!" Anita sighed as she closed the oven door on her lasagna. She looked at Leon with trouble eyes, hands on her hips.  
  
"Ricky? This is about Ricky? He doesn't even know what street racing is! You think I'd tell him? Ohh no being the criminal reckless bastard that I am, I may as well just take him to the races, be a really bad influence on the kid! I don't know your problem!" Leon said hurt that she would think he would do anything to hurt the little tyke. He stood his arms crossed defensively over his chest.  
  
Anita gasped at him, shocked that he even considered that was what this was about. "I NEVER said you were a bad influence. But. but." Anita tried futilely to control her quick temper. "You KNOW what my problem is Leon! You know!" Anita shook her head.  
  
Leon opened his mouth to reply, but Anita held up one hand, wiping the other on a tea towel, "Look. I have to pick up Ricky now. We'll just. just talk about this later tonight." Anita muttered throwing the dishcloth on the counter, rubbing her forehead.  
  
"Nah, why don't we just leave off for tonight. I don't wanna do this shit any more tonight. I'm gonna go home." Leon said abruptly. needed some time with the boys, 'stead of all these over-dramatic women. Well woman.  
  
Anita looked up at him hurt, "Fine why don't we just leave off for the next week! Or month! OR DAMN FOREVER!" Anita finally shouted.  
  
Leon grunted in frustration, "Fine by me!"  
  
"Fine! You know the way to the door. GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Anita carried in a high-pitched wobbly screech.  
  
"FUCKING FINE!" Leon snapped back grabbing his keys and storming out of the house.  
  
"GOOD!" Anita threw after him.  
  
"GOOD!" Leon said.  
  
Anita threw the dishcloth at his retreating back, vengefully, as she snatched up her purse and keys and slammed the front door closed. 


	3. Chapter 2

**Twisted**

**Kelly**

**A/N:** Okay this is an EXTREMELY long chapter and I'm sorry about that, I was considering breaking it into two separate sections the chapter and then the flashback but I really do want the chapters to stay in the format of current events then flashbacks to echo the current events. So this is just going to have to be a long chapter, all chapters probably won't be this long. 

I don't like this chapter. It's too abrupt and I think Anita slipped her secrets far to easy, but I needed to write it this way so I can continue one with the story so I guess it's a bit of a necessary evil if you will. I am in case you didn't notice writing the first half of the chapter as a normal FF moving through the days and weeks after Leon's accident and so forth, but the second half of the chapter I am writing as a flash back, and not only as flash backs but flashbacks going backward in time. Meaning, the first flashback was two days before, then the next was 3 months before and the next will be 4 months or 5 or 6 or 3 months and one day either way it will be before the flashback before it… I know that is one of the most confusing sentence's I've ever written and there's a lot. But at least I know what I'm saying I think. 

Anyway that is why it's a long and messy, slightly ridiculous chapter, but not all of them are going to be that obviously disreguarding of all substance. I promise. 

Umm… I apologize it's midnight here and I've had the flu… I'm kinda rambling. 

**Shout Outs**

_Victoria79:_ * Bakes big choc chip cookies and gives you two * You get two because you were the first to review the chapter… and the story hehe.

_Greenglowchassis: _Yes Anita and Ricky were in 'Were do we go from here.' Which is a fantastic story and I can't wait for Linnie to come home and epilogue that for me… and you know the rest of her fans hehe… but technically this story was around before Anita and Ricky showed up in her ff… she's just much more motivated and better at writing and less fickle then I am hehe. This story has been in my brain for about a year and it's taking me this long to figure it out. Lol. * Give you a cookie too *

_Andy:_ * Gives you a cookie * I'm so glad you are enjoying the ff hehe. I'm still un-sure wheather Leon will give up racing or not, there is going to be a lot of pressure from all different sides on him to keep going or stop accordingly, of course am leaning one way in particular but in the desire to keep me completely off guarge my muses have and probably will change their mind twenty times within the story so who knows.

_Loubelle:_ * Gives you a choc chip cookie * Baked them myself and everything. HEHE. I'm glad your liking the ff… sorry it's taking so long to update but I've had the flu and… like I said this was a really long chapter.

_Skittles:_ * Gives you a cookie AND updates the ff * Now don't you feel lucky hehe. I hope you like the next chapter although it kinda… drones on and I don't particularly like it. Hehe.

ONTO THE STORY!

Chapter 2 "Mommy. Mommy. Mommy." Ricky Elliot sing-songed as he powered along the hall floor towards his mothers room, pushing on of the sliding doors open enough to scamper through then he climbed up on the end of the bed and bounced his way up to land heavily on his mother. 

"Mommy!" Ricky squealed with delight, and in the same breath screamed in fear as something said a bad word and jack-knifed up in bed. "Ahhh!" Ricky wailed pitifully, backing away from whatever was in mommy's bed. 

"Ricky! Buddy, it's okay…" Leon said as he came to enough to realize Ricky had jumped on him, and he hadn't been zapped in the heart by a stray lighting bolt. Reaching his hand out he grabbed Ricky's foot dragging him back towards him. 

Anita jumped and rolled off the couch at Ricky's screams, she ran a hand over her red hair sure that someone was trying to kidnap him or worse, make him go to bed. Running towards the sound of the squealing Anita flung her bedroom doors open to see, Ricky rolling on the bed his sides nearly splitting with high pitched squeals of laughter as Leon tickled and blew raspberry's on his stomach. 

"Morning Mommy." Leon said still grinning down on the two year old, but stopped tickling him. 

"Mommy!" Ricky squealed trying to push Leon's hands away as he stood and bounced on Leon's legs purposefully, before launching his angelic little self off the bed at his mother, who moved quickly to catch him. 

Good morning my baby." Anita said nuzzling his soft dark head. 

"Come on darling I'll make you breakfast in just a minute… why don't you go lie on the couch and I'll come and put the t.v. on in a second." Anita put Ricky on the floor and held the door open for him and he strutted out. 

Grabbing a brush from her duchess Anita turned her back on Leon as she brushed and tied up her hair. Turning slowly hugging her stomach Anita questioned softly, "How are you feeling now?" 

Leon lay back in the pillows of the warm bed… "My chest hurts, but I can't see if there's any bruising." Leon muttered demonstrating it when he tried to look at his chest but couldn't. 

Moving in concerned, Anita pushed the thin blankets away and ran her hand over his right shoulder and peck, looking for the bruise he couldn't find. 

"Ow! Right there." Leon muttered softly. 

Anita leaned over to get a closer look, and Leon took his chance to tumble her over into the bed, rolling on top of her quickly so she couldn't make a get away. "I feel fine now." He lied dropping a kiss on her nose. 

"Get off me Leon." Anita said quietly her lips tightening, her body stiffening. 

"I just wanted to show my thanks, you know for what you did last night." Leon smirked down at her, pulling her tighter the stiffer she got. He'd teach her not to snuggle down with him last night. 

"Okay you've shown your thanks… now let me go so I can make breakfast." Anything to get far, far away from Leon. "Ricky's waiting for me to…" Anita started. 

"Ricky can turn the TV on himself." Leon said his smile widening knowingly as the sound of 'Blue's Clue's' invaded the bedroom as if on cue. "Gimme a kiss." Leon demanded. 

"Get off me Leon! I'm not going to kiss you. I'm still mad at you!" And she had yet to say I told you so. She knew that if he kept doing that damn racing he was going to get hurt and she was right. But somehow she found the restraint not to say anything. 

"Don't be mad." Leon solved her problem quickly. "Nothing happened babe. I'm fine… I told ya I just needed some sleep." Leon nuzzled her hair smelling the sweet apple smelling Anita scent. 

"You got hurt because you were racing didn't you?" Anita said changing tact. "Don't lie I know, I saw how your car looked." 

"Yeah so what? It's the first accident I've had in six almost seven years. I'll be fine." Leon shrugged rolling her over to lie on his chest. 

"Yeah but you had an accident last night!" Anita pointed out. "What if it had been worse and you'd ended up crippled, or dead? Only takes once!" Anita growled in frustration. 

"I didn't. It's okay!" Leon said stroking her hair in comfort. 

"Ohh it's okay sure!" Anita snorted, pushing herself out of his arms roughly, sitting on the bed beside him, "Sure it's okay. I'll just go and stock up on hospital vouchers and give them to you for Christmas. They're having a special buy ten injury vouchers get a fucking," Anita bit her lip she wasn't usually one to swear, "Get a cremation free." Anita finished her rant suddenly wasted of rage, and filled with sadness. 

"Anita, baby, you're over-reacting. I am not going to die in a car accident." Leon sat up wrapping his arm around her waist. 

"Yeah that's what Lisa Baleen's parents probably said, before Mike came along." Anita whispered letting him hold her. 

**~~~Flashback~~~ **

_3 months before _

Anita over here!" Mia waved over the red head with a grin as she lazed on a towel between Leon and a cooler, sunglasses shading her dark brown eye's as she watched her brother and her best friend on the jet ski's they had rented for day. Further down the beach Vince and Jesse were building a sand castle. Well if you asked Vince it was a sand '_masterpiece_'. 

Anita let go of Ricky's hand as he powered down onto the sand, his sensitive little feet wrapped in a pair of sandal's, after an earlier altercation with the hot sand. His chubby, tanned body was in cased in a pair of brand new Hawaiian flower printed long shorts, there was white zinc on his nose and chubby baby cheeks, and a baseball cap on his dark head to protect him from the midday rays. 

Ricky tumbled thrilled onto Mia's stomach, grinning up at her sweetly as though butter wouldn't melt in his little mouth and mewling, "Mee… mee!" as Mia made an exaggerated show of grumbling and dusting sand off her oiled body. 

"You mister, are going to pay for that!" Mia threatened, as Ricky giggled abruptly and dashed down the beach squealing giddily as Mia followed in slow, menacing pursuit. 

Anita watched from behind her ten dollar sunglasses as Mia scooped up Ricky and spun him around, galloping him into the shallow water and dunking his wriggling little self in it as punishment. 

"Hey 'Nita… sit down." Leon said sitting to attention smirking knowingly as he pointed to Mia's abandoned towel. 

Anita dusted off her two piece blue swimsuit of invisible particles of sand and sat where Leon gestured, stretching out, swimming at Leon, while casting casual glances back to Mia and her son, just to make sure everything was alright. Ricky had never been to the beach before. 

"Did I mention you look fine in your swimsuit?" Leon complimented the red head with his most genuine of smiles, and a sweeping glance from the top to toe of her pale, creamy body. 

Anita laughed awkwardly, passing a look down her too wide hips, child bearing hips her grandmother had called them, and the slight pot on her stomach she still hadn't quite lost from when she was pregnant with Ricky, and her to small chest that was the cause of many "She's even jealous of Ironing board" related jokes, and her lack of an form of butt what so ever. 

Hiding behind her sun glasses Anita changed the subject with a soft, "You look great yourself… usually your all covered in grease when I see you." Anita chuckled to herself again nervously, gazing out to the group of four now sitting around the sand castle. 

"Then you obviously don't see me enough." Leon smiled working up the nerve to reach over and give Anita a kiss. Then leaning back on his elbow's as if nothing out of the usual had happened. 

Anita bit down hard on her lip to stop the goofy grin trudging determinedly towards her lips. "He's… really rather big isn't he? Vince I mean. Not like Jesse…" Anita mumbled as she watched Vince talk earnestly to her son, as he gripped a spade in one hand, while Mia and Jesse fought over who got to fill the bucket with sand. 

"Yeah… he is a big son of a…" Leon cut himself off. No swearing around Anita and Ricky… he'd been schooled on that rather quickly, after Ricky had tattled to his mother when Leon had dropped a spanner on his foot and a swear word on Ricky's little ears. "He's big." Leon nodded. 

"He makes Ricky look even smaller then he is." Anita said burying her head in her hands to stifle a gasp of laughter as an obviously frustrated Ricky, slapped Vince on the wrist and shouted, "NO! NO! Mine!" And snatched the shovel off a equally frustrated Vince, who had been trying to explain the subtle art of sand sculpture to the child. 

Leon did nothing to hide his chuckle as Ricky ran squealing around the sand castle as Vince growled playfully and chased him, then Jesse joined in putting the bucket on his head and the handle under his chin chasing the thrilled toddler. 

"Yeah but I get the feeling Ricky himself is gonna be a big boy. Bigger then you. Not that that's hard. He must take after his dad." Leon teased Anita slowly watching her face as it started with a grin and ended with a closed off frown. 

Anita wriggled awkward in the silence on, Mia's towel, staring out at the waves as two of Leon's friends, Dom and Letty, came in to talk to the group that had trudged back down to the sea with Ricky once more. 

"Hey I didn't mean… I don't even know his dad… he could be an ass… at least Ricky has you right?" Leon muttered staring out at the gang in the water as well, frustrated that he may have put his foot in it when they were just starting to get it together. 

And by the way Anita's mouth tightened and her shoulders tensed he got the feeling that he hadn't said the right thing to smooth it over either. 

"'Nita… I'm sorry… I just opened my mouth and words came out before I could check 'em. I didn't mean nothing by it." Leon apologized quietly, taking a coupla sips on his corona. 

"Um… I… no… it wasn't your fault… it was just… a shock… I try not to think about Mi… Ricky's dad as much as I can." Anita shrugged, still un-nerved, by the memories it brought up. 

"You know… you can tell me… if you want too… I don't give a fuck… I don't care what happened with him or anything, but if you wanted to…" Leon muttered rationing his curiosity as to Ricky's un-present father to a minium. He didn't want to push her yet… if things worked out… with them… maybe then he'd try again. 

It's… not really… you wouldn't…" Anita tried to brush off his concern, she didn't want to tell him about her past. She was ashamed of it. But maybe, she should tell him now before they got serious, he might not, will there was no might about it, he wouldn't want her if he knew what she was like back then. 

"Okay." Anita muttered her heart shifting at the mere thought of bringing up those memories she'd pushed away for the last 2 years. But it was a decision, she could keep pushing away the memories, or she could try and use them to push Leon away. It was the… honest, responsible thing to do. It was avoidance, but it didn't stop her. 

"I was… I was a teen when I had Ricky… pregnant at 16 had him when I was 17. I… I got pregnant to a guy I had been dating for a little under a month… we both worked at the wings west factory. I worked part-time in the office, and he worked on the floor. Mike Helner. That was his name." Anita took a hard breath and pushed forward before she could chicken out. 

"When I told him I was pregnant, he said he'd look after me, that he'd take care of it. So… after that I told my parents. But Mike couldn't make it. We got into an argument I mean what parent wouldn't, but they were actually pretty good about it." Anita smiled painfully. 

"My step-mom, she became my birthing partner when Mike took off. I graduated from high school in my 5th month. Then after Ricky was born, I…" This was the hardest part… the part she wanted to ignore. "I went in search of Mike… I figured that we'd be okay… if it was just him and me again… I left Ricky on my parents door step…" Anita's lips trembled as her eye's focused in on her son and stayed with him. 

"I went to New York, and found out Mike and his girlfriend had an apartment there. I watched them for a while… I guess… that's like stalking to you, but I didn't think of it like that… I was just so sure… I was hanging around when a police officer came up to me… I thought I was getting arrested." Anita gulped as she remembered that feeling of dread. 

"Turns out he was after Mike. Mike… had… been in an accident. A… a hit and run with a 9 year old girl… Lisa Baleen. They had been looking for him for almost a year… the girl had died in hospital… from… like massive internal trauma… it was strange… my first thought was what if it had been my baby. What if Mike had stuck around and done something like that to my baby." Anita wasn't talking to Leon any more just herself. 

"I went home… and explained everything to my parents… they got mad at me… couldn't really blame them… and they wouldn't just let me take Ricky… but… they promised that if I could show them that I could look after Ricky properly, they'd give him back. I couldn't really complain, they were more then fair." Anita muttered, forcing her eye's from her son, and the churning and nausea in her stomach to cast her eye's at Leon then away. 

Leon sat stunned… he couldn't believe what he was hearing. She'd abandoned her son. Ricky. To whom she insisted the sun revolved around. She'd abandoned him, as a baby? Not when he was fifteen… not that that was any easier… but… he couldn't… believe it… He couldn't handle it… "I need to go for a walk…" Leon muttered getting up and jogging away from her with speed. 

When he returned twenty minutes later. Mia was resting her towel Vince and Jesse where building a sand castle and Dom and Letty were on the jet ski's. Frowning he sat down next to Mia but before he could speak she answered, "Anita had to leave real suddenly… she said you've got her phone number if you ever want to speak to her…" Mia related, with a sun-induced yawn.


	4. Authors Note

Hola faithful Twisted readers and those new to the story. This is just a little note to let you all know I haven't given up on this story but I had to reformat my hard drive (TWICE) and I lost it. But lucky I'd sent it to a friend, with almost all of chapter 3 done. At the moment I'm getting it beta-read so when my beta is finished then I shall finish up the chapter and post it here. Please don't think I've stopped updating!  
  
Filly. 


	5. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
21st May 1999  
  
"Come on! Please Anita just come to the barbeque? Mia's expecting you and Ricky. she's made special food just for Ricky." Leon leaned in the doorway watching Anita and glaring with disgust at the water forced into his hand, by the fretting mother. He was a strong and healthy twenty-two year old. He didn't need to drink water.  
  
"No! Leon. have you been listening to nothing I've been saying? We aren't dating. We aren't a couple anymore. we broke up remember. with the whole. good. fine thing?" Not to mention the crash, bang broken ribs thing. "The whole ignoring what I think and feel thing?" Anita added  
  
"Anita." Leon sighed, "I wasn't ignoring you, I just don't think it's fair for you to pass judgement on something you haven't even seen. I've been doing it for years, I think I know a little more about it then you." Leon tried to explain.  
  
"No! No pulling mommy's hair." Anita firmly told Ricky as she changed his clothes, and received an injured pout from the delicate two-year-old mouth. "Leon. I know enough about cars to know they cause accidents. And not just with Mike! If I remember correctly it's your car that's about to fall apart outside. Your throwing back a handful of aspirins twice as often as you should, and your still defending it to me?" Anita asked in disbelief as she pulled Ricky's 'Laker's' jersey over his head.  
  
"Anita." Leon started to speak reason and cut himself off. He'd been trying to make her see reason for the last three days. This may have been the first time Leon wished that Anita would act more like Letty or Mia. they let their men race without this kind of hassle. He had only told her about it in the first place because he wanted to take her. Show her off. show off for her. make a little money to take her somewhere nice, like she deserved, and she didn't understand any of that.  
  
"Leeno! Leeno!" Ricky called stretching up his chubby arms pleadingly for Leon who was the much more appealing of the two. With the not dressing him and the piggyback rides. Leon was Ricky's favourite.  
  
Anita dropped Ricky's protesting body onto the dressing table as she fought to put his mini skate shoe's on. Leon wandered close enough to take the other skate shoe and try and force it on Ricky's other flailing leg much to the disgust of Ricky. He was a big two year old, and he did not need to wear shoes!  
  
"I'm just afraid." Anita admitted keeping her eye's firmly on Ricky. Her beautiful, safe, un-judgemental Ricky. "I don't want. I don't." She didn't want him to think that she was going to smile and tell him it was all right to do whatever he wanted because she was so desperate for any man who would take on a single mother and her child that she was going to be docile and never argue. Because she was none of those things, well besides a mother. "I don't want you hurt or. or. dead." Anita bit her lip hard, "I don't want to lose you."  
  
So instead she'd prefer to push him away and say that it was her idea the whole time, instead of taking a chance and risk for a second living without the safety bars that would mean she could get hurt again. She couldn't do that anymore she had to look after Ricky, she couldn't afford to have men in and out of her life she needed someone stable, and secure for her son. She didn't need forever, but she needed to know it wouldn't just end tomorrow.  
  
Shoe abandoned at Anita's soft, reluctant statement, Leon turned and tugged her resistant body in to mould to his like only she did, like he only wanted her to. "I know you've had a hard time with other guys, but I'm not just going to suddenly realize you've got a kid, a devil child," he smirked down at the overly angelic little boy with his devious child like mind, "and run away. I know shit's been hard but I haven't left yet have I?" Leon kissed to top of her head.  
  
Ricky squealed in a pitch only registered by dogs and stood up, one shoe on, one shoe off. "Bad Leeno. Mommy, bad Leeno!" Ricky growled with a terribly stern glare as he smacked Leon's arm for saying the bad word and then merrily tried to jump off the table while the adults were busy.  
  
With a little cry of panic from Anita, Leon dove for the falling child, grabbing him in his arms only to tumble over and have Ricky land with a thud on his still sore ribs. "Ohhh Sh...ugar." Leon winced breathlessly.  
  
Anita grabbed Ricky making sure he was alright before sitting him back on the table, putting his other shoe on quickly, ignoring his protests, then putting him on the ground beside Leon, bending Anita questioned softly, "Did Mia want us to bring anything? We should probably take my car." She conceded only because she needed more time to think.  
  
~~~Flashback~~~  
  
13th February 1999  
  
Anita sat in the car in silence the entire way home. Not the awkward uncomfortable silence that had made their journey to Chianti's the most nerve wracking experience of her life. Well... one of.  
  
They'd talked. about everything. she'd found out so much about him that she hadn't even considered. Her heart had gone guiltily out to him when he had told her about his mother leaving him. It hurt her physically. She wished she could make it up to him. But she couldn't even tell him that she'd done it to Ricky. Denial much Anita?  
  
His music, hip hop kind of stuff, was playing softly from the stereo in his car, and she darted a quick look at him. smiling shyly and looking out the window as she caught him looking back at her.  
  
He wasn't the kind of man she had allowed herself to stereotype him as. He wasn't your normal mechanic. Although. she didn't really know that many mechanics to compare him too. In fact. he was kinda the ONLY mechanic she knew.  
  
She'd of course had other mechanics but they had always shared a mutual demeaning disregard for each other. They had patronized her, spoke down to her when it came to cars, and she had smiled just as condescendingly considering that the only thing in life they could possibly have to be proud of was knowing their way around a car engine. considering it was impossible to think a mechanic could be intelligent in anyway shape or form. Come on. if they knew anything else why would they be a mechanic for heaven's sake?  
  
At least that's what she'd thought until she'd met Leon. No he wasn't university educated. or had even finished high school. But neither had she. He was up to date with car makes, models and parts. But he was also into music. played guitar, sometimes, or so he said, when he was really drunk he'd do karaoke, he spent about a year as a tattoo artist and designed all his own tattoos, and he was a walking encyclopaedia of Martial Art's Movies.  
  
Not what you would call conventional, intellectual pastimes, but she thought they were really creative and made him sound even more sensitive. She hadn't expected to think that about him. She just hadn't seen past the grease monkey thing. She felt kinda bad about it. She just hoped he hadn't picked up on it.  
  
Finally they pulled up at her house and Anita turned another somewhat demure smile on Leon, adjusting the straps of her dress nervously. "Thanks for dinner Leon. it was great. I had a great time." Surprise, Surprise.  
  
Leon smiled out his windscreen and nodded his head slightly, "yeah me too." He said darting a grin at her not at all nervous was Leon nope. He didn't fear yet another rejection from the red head.  
  
The amount of times that woman had rejected his advances in one way or another was enough to do serious damage to a ego any less solid then Leon's. Lucky he wasn't effected by it. Over and over and over again. He was just being respectful. Not leaning over to kiss her. It was just respect. S'all.  
  
Anita looked at the flash of her television from inside and smiled at her lap. "Delia's still up." Sometimes Delia crashed on the couch and went home in the morning. "I better go. Umm." 'I'll ring you?' 'Will you ring me?' 'We'll see each other around?'  
  
Anita climbed out of the car, leaning down into the window of the car. "Did you wanna come in for." Not coffee. Coffee didn't mean coffee at the end of dates. Coffee wasn't Coffee. "A cup of tea. or. a drink?" Anita asked before she could realize.  
  
"Yeah. yeah thanks." Leon smiled at her a little wider. more then a little surprised to receive the offer. He was sure she was just gonna walk away, and reject him yet again.  
  
"Okay I'll go put the kettle on. I'll see Delia home too. she just lives a coupla houses down." Anita said with a smile walking with a slight waggle of her hips up to her house. She'd invited him in for coffee. Maybe she should get a medal or something.  
  
Ten minutes later, Delia paid and sent off home, Anita watching her until she got into her yard, Anita wandered back up the stairs to see Leon making then both a cup of coffee.  
  
"Sit I'll bring them over." Leon offered, almost making Anita step back in surprise. That sounded like. consideration. an emotion she had just automatically assumed he would be incapable of feeling, until tonight.  
  
She sat on the sofa, kicking off her shoes, and resting back against the sofa. Her ankles were throbbing it had been so long since she'd worn silly girly shoes with no purpose other then to squish her feet but make her calves look fantastic. She was much too sensible for that.  
  
When Leon brought the coffee over he settle both the cups on the small table and looked down on the red head. Her hair and head thrown over the arm of the sofa, she was snoring noticeably, her ankles crossed, looking like she'd passed out after getting wasted.  
  
Yet he felt this un-explainable feeling in his stomach. He wasn't used to it. Had never felt it before. But the closest he could equate it too was the time, a guy had tried his drunken luck with Mia and had been shot down.  
  
Then bruised ego rallying the drunken oaf, he'd made a few comments that Leon couldn't let pass, and before he knew it. the guy was on the floor whimpering and bleeding. it had just been the instinctive. urge. or. need to protect Mia. it was like that looking at Anita.  
  
Leon shook it off with a little difficulty. There was a reason for it. It was because she was a mother. That just, it had made everything between them different. When they had first met. he'd been looking for a one-night stand, and then when she had rejected him, it had been the thrill of the chase. Then when he found out she was a mother. things had just changed.  
  
He respected her. She hadn't really done anything to deserve it. He just did. She was a mother, and he respected that. She was all her son had in his life and he respected that bond.  
  
His mother had left him when he was fifteen, and although it wasn't his place to worry about it, he was determined not to have Ricky have to go through that because of him.  
  
And that was why those feelings of protection still floated around. Because he knew that her son was her number one priority. She worked two jobs for her son. She didn't date, because of her son. And she was crashed out on the sofa after a date, exhausted, because of her son.  
  
Picking her up, with a little grunt. he carried her towards her bedroom, pushing the door open, not even bothering to look around the room he had up until this point never seen. He laid her on the bed, pulling her shoes off, hesitating wondering whether to take her earring out.  
  
He stepped back hands held high in innocence, as Anita sat up her eye's squeezed shut hoping to hold the sleep, as she lift her arms above her head.  
  
Leon simply stared at the red head bemused. Un-sure.  
  
Anita opened one eye blearily, and mumbled, "A little help?"  
  
Leon slowly walked over to bend down, his hands grabbing her dress at the waist and tugging it up, even though she sat on it. Managing with a little difficulty to get it off, leaving Anita shivering in her tiny black underwear.  
  
"Lie down." Leon offered pushing her back towards the pillow.  
  
Both of Anita's eye's opened and she stared into his eyes almost melting into the bed and the pillow. "Lie down with me.?" She asked softly.  
  
"You're tired." Leon muttered, playing the gentleman reluctantly.  
  
Anita sat up on her elbows. She reassured him with a firm. soft, "No. I'm not." She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer. or maybe she was pulling herself closer, neither really seemed to care.  
  
"Stay the night, Leon. Stay with me tonight." Anita whispered against his lips. It was impulsive, irresponsible. and seemed like the perfect way to end the night.  
  
Leon hesitated, until she pressed her lips against his. soft and willing. begging him with her hands to stay with her. With that he relented. allowing himself the pleasure of sinking down into the bed on top of her. 


End file.
